1.00pm - By GREG TOURELLE
MELBOURNE - Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken has a tough job deciding on her team for the final trans-Tasman netball test of the year on Saturday.
The three-test series in Australia has provided Aitken with a dual aim.
As world champions, she wants to continue to maintain the psychological advantage over Australia by winning, but she also wants to develop younger players in the white-hot environment of test netball.
She has had partial success both ways.
While the Silver Ferns lost the first test 54-49 in Sydney last Saturday, they bounced back with a resounding 50-42 win in Perth on Tuesday, setting up an exciting finale for Melbourne.
Aitken gave goal attack prospects Angela Mitchell and Jodi Te Huna half a game each in Sydney and rested skipper Lesley Nicol in the final quarter, giving Victoria Edward playing time.
Defender Anna Scarlett also had time on court in that match.
There was a strategy change in Perth. Aitken started with Te Huna at goal attack, blending her in with experienced hands Irene van Dyk, Temepara Clark and Adine Wilson.
But on defence she started with Scarlett and Joline Henry, before resorting to the stalwarts, Vilimaina Davu and Sheryl Scanlan, later on.
Mitchell and Amigene Metcalfe were waiting in the wings in Perth, but Aitken maintained her attacking four for the whole match and Australia struggled to match them.
She admitted after the Perth win that she and assistant coach Leigh Gibbs had a "juggle" on their hands.
"We will be reassessing things. Certainly we want to look at getting players on there on court where they can learn in this environment but we also want to nail the series."
She said starting the Perth match with youngsters Te Huna, Scarlett and Henry in the starting line-up had its purpose.
"There is nothing like having that tension at the start. Players need to be put in that environment.
"Australia start extremely well all the time, they are really fast but I felt we stemmed that speed and made things difficult for them in Perth."
She said Scarlett, who threw herself into the fray, and Henry performed well before she opted for changes.
"Being able to have the luxury of having those old heads come on....after they have sat there and looked at it for a while and realised that they have to make their mark because there are some young ones stepping up, that's very healthy for the good for the team."
The Australians seemed thrown out by the changes.
Australia's Alison Broadbent said the change of tack was difficult to counter.
"They played a different type of game to what we'd been practising on," she told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"They worked very hard on what we played on last game ... we were a little bit disappointing with how we came forward with the ball, and we let a few balls go ... we have to work on that and get back for Melbourne."
Te Huna and Scarlett have been the development successes so far this tour and seem likely to figure in Aitken's plans on Saturday, but whether Henry, Edward and Metcalfe get any game time remains to be seen.
The coach will not want to cede any ground to the Australians.
Their captain Liz Ellis said in the leadup to the first test that whoever won this series would have "bragging rights" leading into the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Ellis missed the Perth test because of an ankle injury suffered in the Sydney test.
It should become clearer in the next day or so whether she will play in Melbourne, but Australian hopes would appear to rest on her return.
Her experience in the defensive unit and her experience were missed in Perth.
Both teams arrived in Melbourne yesterday and training sessions are planned today.
- NZPA
Netball: Aitken faces selection dilemma for series decider
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